Among the cuisines of Southeast Asia, Thai food is unique. Thai cooking is
completely identifiable in its own right, incorporating all 5 tastes: sweet, sour, bitter,
salty, and spicy. Thai people have taken foreign influences and transformed
them into a cuisine uniquely their own.
The ' Tai' people migrated from
valley settlements in the mountainous region of Southwest China (now Yunnan
province) between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, into what is now known as Thailand,
Laos, the Shan States of upper Burma, and
northwest Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese cooking techniques, Thai
cuisine flourished with the rich biodiversity of the Thai peninsula. As a result,
Thai dishes today have some similarities to Szechwan Chinese
dishes.
The influence of the foreign trade was also important. The Portuguese brought
their sweets to King
Narai's court in the seventeenth century. Some say Buddhist monks from India brought curry to
Thailand. Indian curry and Muslim cuisine were introduced at a palace
feast in honour of King
Rama I at the turn of the 18th century. Some of these dishes are still
popular today including Massaman
curry and yellow curry (Gaeng Garee). Massaman curry contains
many dried spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. Yellow curry can be spiced with
turmeric,
cumin,
ground coriander
seed and red
chili powder.
Thai food varies from region to region due to geography and history. In the West, most Thai restaurants serve Bangkok-style cuisine, so travelling in Thailand is
a culinary adventure of discovery.
In the Central Bangkok region, food is hot, salty, sweet and sour.
Steamed jasmine rice is served with different types of ' nam prik' (dipping sauces) and soups. Tom yam gung (prawn soup
with lemon
grass) is a favorite dish. Prepared dishes usually contain many condiments and dried spices.
In the North around Chiang Mai, food is mild or
hot, salty and sour, but rarely sweet. Sticky rice (glutinous) is served with steamed
vegetables, ' nam prik oong'
and soups or Northern-
style curries are common. The North is also well-known for
' naem', a sour sausage made of
fermented minced pork, wrapped and steamed in banana leaf.
Food in the Northeast (Issan) is hot, salty and sour. Papaya salad som tahm, sour chopped meat salad ('koi'), and sour minced chicken, beef,
or pork salad Laab are favourites. Many condiments are used
but not many spices in this region. Meals are based on sticky rice and 'nam
prik pla raa' (spicy dipping sauce of
fermented fish and chilies) accompanied by raw wild and cultivated vegetables
and herbs .
Food in the South is renowned for being strong
in taste - very hot, salty and sour.
Spicy curries are eaten every
day, especially coconut curry. Generally Southerners eat more fish than
meat, because
they reside close to the sea. The most common dipping sauce is ' nam prik gupi' also called ' nam
chuke', eaten with raw vegetables and fried fish.
Thai food has a combination of five
major tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and hot.
These flavours are achieved by combining various spices. Coriander, garlic, tumeric, ginger, lemon grass, cardamom, basil and pandan leaves are popular fragrant spices.
Chili peppers and
white pepper
create hotness. Shrimp
paste, fish
sauce and tamarind round out the many flavours.
(Note: All of these grocery items can be
bought in our online marketplace).
The masterful blending of these five flavours, is what
makes Thai dishes so unique.
Some of the ingredients used to achieve these 5 tastes can
be:
Sweet - palm sugar
Sour - lime,
tamarind, raw
mango, sour
pineapple or other sour fruits
Salty - sea salt or fish
sauce
Bitter - bitter
gourd (ma-rah) or
raw leaves from various plants and trees
Hot - chili peppers - fresh or dried;
peppercorns, fresh or dried
Any or all of these 5 flavours can occur in any one dish- a dish can be
predominantly one or an artful blend of all five. For example, Tamarind juice served over ice is
seasoned with a pinch of salt- it is both sour and salty - Aroy Maak (delicious)!
Traditionally, the Thai meal is served all at once, family-style,
not in courses. Dishes are served
warm or at room temperature, unlike Western hot off the grill,
which creates a more relaxing dining experience! Rice though is
preferably served steaming hot in a shallow bowl for each diner, similar in size to
Western soup plates.
The meal is eaten with a fork and spoon (chopsticks
are for noodles only). The fork is used to push the
rice onto the spoon. Knives are not necessary because everything is cut
into small pieces before cooking. The correct method of
eating with a spoon and a fork is to hold the fork in the left hand and to use it to
push the food onto the spoon. The fork is never
used to eat directly from (similar to the Western
table knife).
Diners take a small spoonful of a dish from a communal
serving bowl and put it onto their rice in their individual rice
plates. The diner mixes the food into the rice and eats the spoonful.
No one hoards one dish or takes more than one can eat in a
couple of spoonfuls. Soup is sipped noisily from a spoon, from the communal serving bowl at a family meal.
Traditionally, Thai food is not served with
alcohol but at an informal meal, beer can be served. Cold water
is usually the beverage of choice and normally drank only after
the meal is finished.
Tables and chairs once absent, are now virtually a requirement
in modern Bangkok homes. In the countryside, diners often sit on a
straw mat on the floor, though tables and chairs
are also making headway there.
Knives, once considered vulgar at the table,
are now becoming common in modern city homes. In the countryside
traditional styles continue, but are under pressures to change, with more
foreign influences.
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